Canada pitcher goes distance in big win

Bad.

"This was a statement game,” said Armanino, who allowed nine hits, three earned runs and struck out eight in going the distance. "I’ve never had a reaction like that (after a regular-season game). This was huge and we needed to win after losing to them in the playoffs last year. The best way we described it (going into the game) is Cañada for real? And we just wanted to show we were.”

Did they ever.

In a sense, Cañada needed to beat CSM (7-2, 14-4-1) more than the other way around. For years the Colts could only look up to the Bulldogs and see their rivals to the north were superior than they were. It didn’t matter that entering Saturday’s contest it was the Colts who had the superior record and were ranked ahead of the Bulldogs (Cañada was No. 3 in Northern California and on top of the Coast Conference Pacific Division and CSM fourth and tied for the lead in the Coast Golden Gate).

The Colts needed this victory as a validation of sorts because the last time the teams met — in the opening round of last year’s playoffs — it was CSM that came out on top, sweeping a best-of-three series. Saturday, Armanino slowed down one of the state’s best hitting teams, as the Bulldogs came in averaging eight runs per game.

Armanino allowed two runs in the third and single runs in each of the next two innings, but settled down nicely after that. The sophomore left-hander got stronger as the game wore on, retiring 12 in a row at one point. Armanino gave up a towering solo home run to CSM slugger Joey Wallace, a run-scoring single to Ryan Allgrove and a sacrifice fly to Jarrod Hopper. But after making an adjustment midway through the game, Armanino got in a groove and CSM didn’t have an answer.

"The first time through the order, they were hitting a lot of my fastballs,” Armanino said. "After that I just wanted to pitch backwards (mixing things up with my change-up and curve and then coming back with the fastball).”

Bulldogs coach Doug Williams credited Armanino but felt his players could’ve done a better job of making their own adjustments hitting-wise.

"That’s an area we can improve on,” Williams said.

CSM got the tying run on in the bottom of the ninth inning when O’Koyea Dickson hit a leadoff single. Dickson was lifted for pinch runner Griffin Kirsch, who was caught stealing after Armanino guessed right and threw over to first for a third consecutive time. Armanino recorded the next batter before allowing a single to Pat Burford, but he struck out Justin Maffei swinging to seal the outcome.

"Knowing Doug Williams and how aggressive they are, I wanted to throw over to first for a third time because teams aren’t usually expecting it,” Armanino said.

Said Williams: "We had it planned out and I thought it was a good situation for him to run on. It was my decision.”

Once again, Cañada received a strong performance from the top of its lineup. Leadoff hitter Evan Warner, a CSM-transfer, had two hits, one of which was a two-run single to give his team a 2-0 lead in the second.

The Colts’ No. 2 hitter, Tony Cooper, had two doubles. Zach Turner’s two-run single in the fifth put the Colts ahead 5-3 after CSM had taken its only lead of the game on Wallace’s home run an inning earlier. The Colts won despite leaving 14 runners on base and finishing just 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

Then again, overcoming adversity has been one of the hallmarks to their season. Cañada is in sole possession of the Coast Conference Pacific Division despite losing two key starters — starting pitcher Ray Torres and shortstop Pierson Jeremiah — to season-ending injuries a couple of weeks into the season. Meanwhile, CSM has been playing solid as usual but did make an error in the decisive fifth that kept the inning alive for the Colts and allowed them to score the game-winning run.

"We made a mistake and it cost us big,” Williams said. "But I’m not going to dwell on that too much. It was just one of those days where we ran out of innings and the game ended a little bit early.”

Bulldogs starter Glenn Wallace had another solid outing, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings. Although Cañada and CSM won’t meet again in the regular-season — teams from the Pacific and Golden Gate Divisions play each other just once — there’s a chance they’ll see each other again in the postseason.

Barring a collapse from either squad, both teams are expected to make the playoffs and earn a top-six seed, which would allow both to host an opening-round regional. Victories from both could put them in the same super regional or in a separate one. Before that, however, Cañada would like to win a conference championship, something that has eluded coach Tony Lucca since he took over the program seven years ago.

"We’re here to win a championship, and today was a step in the right direction,” Armanino said. "The guys really believe in each other and we know we’re capable of doing some great things.”

Game box

Cañada 5, CSM 4

Cañada 020 030 000 — 5 9 1

CSM 002 110 000 — 4 9 1

WP — Armanino. LP — G. Wallace. 2B — (Can) Cooper 2; (CSM) Dickson, Goulding. HR — (CSM) J. Wallace. Multiple hits — (Can) Warner 2, Cooper 2, Turner 2; (CSM) Allgrove 2, Dickson 2, Burford 2, Goulding 2. Multiple RBI — (Can) Turner 2, Warner 2. Records — Cañada 9-0 Coast Conference Pacific; 17-2 overall; CSM 8-1 Coast Golden Gate; 14-4-1 overall.